Take and edit Live Photos

Capture photos that come alive when you touch them. Then you can pick a different key photo, add a fun effect, edit your Live Photo, and share with your family and friends. All from your iPhone 6s and later.

Take a Live Photo

Live Photos records what happens 1.5 seconds before and after you take a picture. What you get is more than a great photo: a moment captured with movement and sound. You take a Live Photo just like you do a traditional photo.

Live Photos is on by default on your iPhone 6s and later. If you want to take a still image instead, tap to turn off Live Photos. You can preserve your Camera settings so that Live Photos is always on or off. Go to Settings > Camera > Preserve Settings.

See your photos come to life

After you take a Live Photo, you can relive the moment instantly from the Photos app.

Change your key photo

Want to use a different key photo than the one you see in your photo library? In iOS 11 and later, it's no problem. Choose from the range of frames that make up your Live Photo.

Open the Live Photo.

Tap Edit.

Move the slider to change the frame.

Release your finger, then tap Make Key Photo.

Tap Done.

You can also toggle the Live Photo effect off when you tap Edit > . If you change your mind, just tap again in Edit.

Add Live Photo effects

With Live Photo effects in iOS 11 and later, your photos can be even more expressive, creative, and just plain fun.

Open the Live Photo.

Swipe up until you see Effects.

Choose Loop, Bounce, or Long Exposure.

Loop: Turn a Live Photo you love into a video loop. Choose an image yourself, or let Photos suggest which ones would make great loops.

Bounce: Make your Live Photo rock back and forth. Watch your Live Photo as it happened, then instantly play in reverse.

Long Exposure: Capture the elements of time and movement. Create a beautiful effect that used to be possible only with a DSLR camera. Fireworks become bright streaks across the night sky. A waterfall, a magical blur.

Edit your Live Photos

Make edits to your Live Photos the same way as any other photo, with the tools built directly into the Photos app. Crop, add filters, adjust the light, and more. You can even trim or mute the sound.

Open the Photos app.

Go to the Photos tab.

Tap the Live Photo that you want to edit.

Tap Edit or .

Share any way you like

Show off your Live Photos to family and friends. Just make sure that they have the latest iOS or Messages for Mac. You can share your moment as a Live Photo or a still photo.

Tap .

In iOS 10 and earlier, if you want to share the still photo and not the Live Photo, tap Live in the upper-left corner.

Choose how you want to share your photo.If you choose Mail, it sends as a still image.

If you edit your Live Photo in a third-party app, you might lose the Live Photo effect.